The group reached the Forest of Akagahara in the late afternoon and then waited for Team 3 to arrive.
Using their Mind's Eye and Shadow Clones, the two Uzumaki created a map of the forest, and everyone was surprised by how good their calligraphy and drawing were.
Then again, they were Uzumaki, fabled for their Fuinjutsu, and both had obviously been trained from a very early age.
"Hide us, there's a large avian creature that just went airborne from the central hills."
At Enma's call, Anko quickly used her Earth Release to hide them inside an earth cage, and Asuma clicked his fingers and conjured flames to provide some illumination.
"Nii-san?" Karin furrowed her brows as she sensed the avian creature, which was made up of several different Chakras, and it seemed unnatural.
Enma, however, kept quiet and continued to focus on the avian creature. Then suddenly, his body flinched.
"There's something wrong."
"What?"
"Hatake Kakashi. He's rushing to our location, all alone, carrying a large briefcase. His eye is glinting red, and he destroyed my clone with a sudden, half-hearted Raikiri when it tried to approach him. He's not in his senses."
"What does that mean?" Ino frowned.
"His mind is being controlled," Enma said plainly, and all their hearts tensed up.
The Uzumaki then quickly created a Shadow Clone and dispelled it to convey his orders to all his clones.
"Team 3 will be here in thirty minutes. We need to decide what to do about Kakashi-sensei."
Everyone stayed quiet for a few minutes, and then Asuma sighed.
"We will capture him if he plans on entering the forest."
"And how are we going to do that? He's not easy to contain. If he is truly being controlled..." Yugao tensed up.
"I will seal him inside my Hexagonal Prism with me, and then I will try to help him regain consciousness using my Chakra Chains."
"He's dangerous, Kid," Anko warned, watching the Uzumaki smile.
"I'll be fine. He won't be able to escape the Prism, but I can pull out at any time I want."
"And how are we going to enter the forest without triggering the traps?" Shizuka raised the most important question.
"We could trigger the traps..."
"No," Hana shook her head, cutting Ino off. "The enemies might kill Naho in retaliation. We need to be discreet."
"The enemy will find us the moment we stop Kakashi," Enma said lightly, and they all fell into deep thought.
"Then, let Kakashi enter? We can follow him quietly," Ino suggested, and all their brows furrowed.
"What if he is being controlled to be killed?" Choji's stomach grumbled as he asked the question, which meant he was very nervous.
"Guy has a Hyuga on his team," Anko suddenly said. "With his and Karin's help, we can travel through the forest. However, the puppets will be triggered regardless of what we do in the Clover Field. So, once we reach it, we will have to reveal ourselves."
"How did the enemies make it through?" Choji asked another question, and Shikamaru spoke.
"Possibly on that avian creature that Enma sensed. It's large enough, right?"
"Yes," the Uzumaki nodded.
"Can we make a tunnel all the way to the hills?"
"No," Anko shook her head. "It's too far away, and there are traps underground as well. Even if we managed to reach the hills, it would consume all of my Chakra, and if we took it slow, it would take days. We could have considered this option earlier, but now Kakashi is under their influence."
Shikamaru sighed at her words.
"What a drag..."
"As soon as Team 3 arrives, rush into the forest. I will stay with Enma to deal with Kakashi. We will distract the enemy, and if we succeed in freeing him from their influence, we will catch up with you," Hana suggested, and the Hebi-sensei nodded at her words.
"That works." She smiled. "Kid, make sure you don't break him out of their influence too soon. Wait until we have reached the Clover Field, at least, but if it comes down to life and death, do what you must."
"Yes, Sensei."
"You are putting him in danger!" Ino looked at them in disbelief.
"He can handle himself," Anko shrugged, and Ino fell silent when she saw Enma nod.
"Hana-nee, let's go. We'll intercept Kakashi-sensei away from here."
The Inuzuka nodded immediately, and Anko created an opening for them in their earthy cage. The two of them and the three ninken rushed out and soon flickered out of sight.
Ino's heart slowed down as the cage closed again, and she nervously looked at Karin, who smiled at her.
Seeing that smile, the Yamanaka calmed down a lot.
Fifteen minutes later, the Uzumaki Princess informed them that there was movement and the avian creature was carrying two people on its back towards her brother's location. Five minutes later, they dropped the cage and met with Team 3, who had arrived with Enma's clone.
"Neji, Karin, Enma, take the lead. The forest is littered with traps, and you will lead us through it."
The Hyuga glanced at the two Uzumaki and nodded before he rushed in, and Karin and Enma's clone stayed by his side, with everyone else following them with caution, stepping only where they stepped.
On the other side, Hana and her ninken were caught inside the large Hexagonal Prism that Enma had created, and watched as the Uzumaki fought with one of the Elite Jonin of their village.
Seeing that red glow in Kakashi's eye was terrifying, but thankfully, Enma was fast and managed to hold his own against him.
She caught the large briefcase that the Uzumaki threw her way, and frowned when she found it locked with seals.
"It has seals on it," she informed him, watched him nod, and then saw an avian creature in the sky and the two figures who jumped off its back.
The next moment, the feathers of the bird fell on the Prism, and as they made contact, they exploded like explosive tags.
She panicked when she saw what was happening but was relieved to see that the barriers held on.
"Hana-nee, get ready, we will engage these enemies as soon as I break Kakashi-sensei out of this mind-controlling jutsu. We cannot let these three get back to the others."
"Yes!" She resolutely nodded and scrutinised the two figures.
One was a young lady, probably in her mid-twenties, with a fair complexion and beautiful midnight-blue hair. The other... her eyes widened as she took in the hair of the woman, who seemed to be in her early thirties.
"You are Pakura of the Sand! How?!" she exclaimed in shock and heard Enma chuckle.
"They can't hear us, Hana-nee."
At his reminder, she blushed slightly and turned her attention to what was happening on his side.
She was stunned when she saw him standing on Kakashi's back, who was pinned to the ground, wrapped in his Chakra Chains, which were glowing white from time to time.
Her attention soon returned to the two Shinobi, one of whom had suddenly created ice mirrors around their Prism, and Pakura was throwing a volley of glowing balls of flame at the barrier, which shook but stayed strong.
However, the next instant, from the steam that hid the enemies from her eyes, the Prism was struck again with ice spears, explosive feathers, and scorch bombs that finally made some cracks appear on it.
"Relax." She heard Enma's voice and calmed down. "Show me the briefcase."
At his words, she quickly rushed to his side and handed him the briefcase, watching him infuse his Chakra into it, making the seals light up.
Enma then supported it with his Chakra Chains and performed a sequence of hand seals.
"Open." He slammed his palm on the briefcase, and instantly, all the seals on it began to break apart.
When it opened, Hana frowned at the things inside.
"What is it?" She heard Enma ask.
"Some jars with liquid inside, and some test tubes filled with liquid. There is also a pair of Byakugan in one of the jars..."
"I see." He nodded, then closed the briefcase again, placing new seals on it.
He then took out a sealing scroll from his pouch, which enlarged in his hand, and then stored away the briefcase inside it.
"Stand back," he said to the Inuzuka, who immediately stepped away.
Hana watched his Chains glow brightly, and instantly, Kakashi stopped struggling.
"You are not going to kill me now, are you, Kakashi-sensei?" Enma asked playfully.
"I am mad as hell, but not at you," the Jonin replied as the Uzumaki freed him.
"There was a puppet seal on you, Kakashi-sensei. Likely planted a long time ago. You do know what you did while under the enemy's control, right?"
"Yeah."
"Where did you find the briefcase?"
"Outside the walls of Konoha, hidden deep under a tree."
"Any idea who it belonged to?"
"Yeah," the man sighed.
"Who?" Hana frowned.
"I heard his voice in my head. It's Hiruko, a Missing-Nin from Konoha, from the same generation as the Sannin. He was caught indulging in some mad research on people and developing a Kinjutsu. He escaped before the Anbu could get to him. He was with me on a mission during the Third Shinobi War, and that is likely when he planted that puppet curse on me. He was a medic."
"Oh..." The Inuzuka solemnly nodded.
"Alright. It's time. Get ready." Enma said suddenly, and both Hana and Kakashi got into position.
The three Haimaru Brothers covered the Inuzuka's flanks and one stood in front of her.
"Kakashi-sensei, can you do something about that bird?" Enma asked lightly. "Its feathers, when dropped, detonate on contact. Earth Release."
The Copy Ninja already had his Sharingan eye open, and he was watching the avian creature.
"Leave it to me, but I will need your help to get to it at some point."
"I will create an opportunity, just cover us from its feathers until then..."
The barrier suddenly collapsed, and Hana and her three ninken immediately used the Fang Passing Fang, rushing at the kunoichi with the Ice Release.
Enma, on the other hand, charged at Pakura, creating a few Shadow Clones, who were already performing hand seals.
"Water Style... Water Hail!" "Wind Style... Gale Palm!"
The two jutsu, when combined, gained even more speed and lethality, and Pakura sensed the danger and unleashed a barrage of Scorch Spheres to intercept those water bullets.
A series of explosions sounded out, and with all the steam and debris, it was difficult to see ahead.
Before Pakura could react, a massive wave of water came crashing into her, rattling her, but she soon recovered and pulled out her kunai, looking around, trying to sense her enemy.
However, the steam blocked her sight, and deciding to clear it, she began weaving hand seals for a wind jutsu, which she never got to finish.
From the water under her feet, two hands grabbed her ankles, and then she was pulled inside a water prison with glowing white Chakra Chains soon binding her.
On the other side, Hana and her ninken were struggling, unable to break the ice mirrors of their opponent, who was hiding inside them and attacking with ice senbon from time to time.
Gritting her teeth, the Inuzuka ordered her companions to shield her, and then she quickly performed some hand seals before smashing her palms on the ground.
Suddenly, the ground under the mirrors crashed, and they were hurled up into the air, but then they all dissipated, turning into a mist that surrounded Hana and her ninken.
The next instant, everything started to freeze, but she managed to react in time as she used Fang Passing Fang again, but this time, the drills were covered in her Flame Release, which managed to help her get away.
"Jump!" She heard Enma's shout and instinctively jumped up with her ninken, and her heart nearly stopped when she saw sharp ice spikes erupt from the ground, reaching for her metres up in the air.
Before she could react, she was caught by a white Chakra Chain, and a few seconds later, she was standing behind the Uzumaki, looking at the forest of ice spikes that the enemy had just created.
A cold sweat trailed down her cheek from her forehead...
"Enma!!" She screamed when she saw the boy get impaled by the woman, who had suddenly shot out of an ice shard next to them, holding an ice sword in her hand, but then she froze as his body dematerialised into lightning, electrocuting the kunoichi.
"No, don't kill her." She stopped just as she was about to rush in and end things, and when she looked up, she saw the avian creature tied in Chakra Chains, and Kakashi's Lightning Blade cutting it apart into dozens of pieces.
When she looked back, she found Pakura locked inside a water prison with glowing chains from Enma surrounding her, and the same chains burst out of the ground and bound the kunoichi with Ice Release.
"They are being controlled, which is why they are also unable to display their true strengths. Their minds are not clear enough," he said as he emerged from the ground, and both Kakashi and Hana came to stand by his sides.